Writing-machine.



NO- 830,478. P PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906- E. B. HESS 61; J. M. STOUGHTON. WRITING MACHINE.- APPLIOATION FILED 001'.s.1902.

I UNITED STATES EDWARD B. HESS, OF BROOKLYN,

AND JOSEPH NI. S'lOUGHTON. OF

YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSlGNh IENIS, TO-

ROYAL TYPEWRITER COMPANY,

OF HOHOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WRITING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed October 3, 1902. Serial No. 125.809.

To all whom it may concern. Be it known that we, EDWARD B. Hess, of the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, and JOSEPH M. STOUGHTON, of Yonkers, county of Westchester, State of New York, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Writing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for actuiating type-bars of the general character disclosed in the United States patents of Edward B. Hess, No. 700,687, dated May 20, 1902; Edward B. Hess and Joseph M. Stoughton, No. 679,674, dated May 13, 1901; Edward B. Hess, No. 679,673, dated July 30,1901; Edward B. Hess, No. 694,015, dated February 25, 1902, and United States application of Edward B. Hess, Serial No. 73,460, filed August 27, 1901-that is to say, to a flexing type-bar-actuating connection connected at its rear end to the heel of thetype-bar and at its front end to the frame, it being disposed in a direction fore and aft of the machine under the type bar, which normally lies toward the front of the machine, and when flexed by power applied intermediate its ends and in rear of its point of attachment to the frame 1 the angular relation of its parts on both sides of its point of flexure is changed and the type-bar is thrown to the printing-point with an increasing velocity. In the present structure, as in those disclosed in the patents and application men 3 5 tioned, the part or member of the flexing connection located in front of the point offlexure rocks or moves about the point to which its front end is attached either with a. truly pivotal movement, as shown in Patent No. 700,687, or otherwise, as shown in Patent 'No. 694,015. With such a flexing typebar actuating connection the initial depression. of the flexing connectionopposes a minimum resistance -to the actuation of the flnger- 5 piece, and this resistance and correspondlngly the velocity of the type-bar increases during the further depression of the fingerpiece.

The present invention contemplates an or ganization by which the velocity of the typebar toward the end of its movement. to the printing-point is further accelerated, and to accomplish this the part or member of the flexing connection in front of the point of flexure is either flexible throughout its length or capable of flexure at one or more points. In its initial depression the front member rocks or turns about its point of attachment to the frame, and thereafter and at a suitable time before the type-bar reaches the print ing-point the front member is caused to flex at a point between its front and rear ends to thereby decrease the radius of the curve in which its rear end moves to effect an in The accompanying drawings show merely detail views indicating a platen, type-bar, spring, and type-bar-actuating devices, and these devices may be embodied in complete machines constructed in the general way disclosed in the patents above mentioned or otherwise, asthe designerv of the machine may elect.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 show, respectively, different or modified forms of the invention.

a is the platen; b, the type-bar to be pivoted in a segment located below the plane'of' the type-bar normally lying toward the front of the machine against the back-stop or rest 0. To the heel of the type-bar under or in rear ofai-ts pivot is attached the rear member (1 of the flexing connection, shown as a link of wire hinged at its front end to the rear end of the front member e, whose forward end is attached to the frame.

In Figs. .1, 2, 3, and 4 the hinge-joint between the ends of the two members due of the flexing connection is formed by flexibly attaching their ends to the lower end of a vertically-movable stem f, to which the fingerpieee g is applied. As shown in Fig. 1, the front member of the flexing connection is composed of the two links 71 i, hinged together at Below this member and at or slightly in front of the joint is placed an abutment k, which may be a rod, either straight or curved, accor'lin to the construction of the machine, extent ing between the side plates thereof or a piece carried by or forming art of a projection from the front part of tfie machine. During the initial depression of the fin er-piece the entire member e descends untiIthe outer portion ii thereof is arrested by the abutment I", and thereafter only the front portion at continues to move on the continued depression of the finger-piece. The effect of arresting movement of the front part It is to reduce the radius of the curve 1n which the hinge-joint Z moves, thereby materially increasing the rate of acceleration, while at the same time preservin the delicacy of touch ofthe fingerpiece unti the type-bar has been set in motion and made a substantial part of its exursion toward the printing-point. Experience has demonstrated that with a constructionprecisely as indicated in Fig. 1 no secondary resistance is noticeable when the front member of the connection strikes the abutment Zr, and the touch of the fingerpiece is smooth and easy, although, of course,

the resistance increases. The construction is the same in Fig. 2, except that the front member 6 is composed of three members united by two hinge-joints and two abutments k m are em loyed. In front member e is s 1own as a coiled spring which may, as indicated, be attached at its front end to the fixed piece or frame by soldering, as indicated at n. In this construction the abutment It produces substantially the same result. In I ig. 4 the front member e is shown as a chain, and the abutment is shown as a rearwardly-extendin block or projection having a downward fy curved 1 face 0.

In Fi ."5 the construction is the same as that of ig. 1, except that the adjacent ends of the two members of e are attached to a link 1), pivoted to the end of the stem f, this arrangement being that described and claimed in the patent of Hess and: Stoughton, No.

679,674, above named.

In Fig. 6 the arrangement is the sameas indicated in Fig. 1, except that instead of using a push-pin or stemf the flexing connection d a is actuated by a key-lever g, pivoted at its rear end and connected with the flexing connection at its joint Z by a link 1'.

In each of the figures the type-bar-return spring is shown as a relatively long coiled spring lying between the type-bar and the rear member d of the flexin connection. It is connected at its rear en to the type-bar above orin front of the type-barpivot and at its front end, to any suitable piece, post, or part of the frame. We have found this ig. 3 the arrangement of t vpebar spring and typebar-actnating connection to be'a desirable one as regards the touch of the finger-piece and the behavior of the t vpe-bar. The spring is preferably comparatively long, of substantial diameter, and light tension. A materially greater tension will, however, be required where a key-lever is used, as in Fig. 6.

We claim as our invention '1. In a writingnmichine, the combination with the tvpe-bar, of a type-bar-actuating connection having one end thereof operatively connected to the type-bar and its opposite end to a fixed part of the machine. means causing such connection to be flexed at a point between the type-bar and such fixed part of the frame, and means acting to change the radius of the curve in which the point of tlexure moves.

2. In a writing-nmchine, the combination with a'platen and pivoted type-bar normally lying toward the front of the machine, of a flexing type-bar-aetuating connection extending underthe type-bar attached at its rear end thereto, at its front end to a fixed piece or part of a frame and capable of being ilexod by power applied intermediate its ends and in rear of said fixed part and means acting to change. the radiusof the curve about which the point of tlexure moves, for the purpose set forth. I

3. In a writinganachine, the combination with a platen and pivoted type-bar normally lving toward the front of the machine, of a flexing type-bar-actuating connection exteiiding und'er the type-bar attached at its rear end thereto, at. its front end to a fixed piece or part of a frame and capable of being flexed by power applied intermediate its ends and in rear of said fixed part, the part of the flexing connection in front of its point of ilexure being capable of flexing and an abutment against which said part strikes only during the latter stage of its movement, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a writing-machine, the combination of a platen and pivot-ed type-bar, of a flexing typebaractuatmg connection comprising two members united by a hinge-joint, the rear member being attached to the type-bar and the front member being itself capable of flexure and attached toa fixed piece or part of the frame, means for depressing tsuoh flexing connection to throw the type-bar to the printing-point and an abutment located be tween the point of flexure and the fixed point against which said front member works, for

the purpose set forth.

5. 'In a writing-machine, the combination of a platen and pivoted type-bar, of a flexing type-lntr-actuating connection adapted to be flexed by power applied intermediate its ends and comprising two members one extending from the point of ilexurc rearwardly to the type-bar and the other forward to a fixed connected at its rear end to t at its front end to a fixed piece or part of the piece or part of the frame, the latter member eing composed of links hinged together and an abutment against which said latter mcmher works after the type-bar has made part of its excursion to the printing-point, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a writing-machine, the combination of a platen and type-bar pivoted in a plane below the platen and normally lying toward the front of the machine, with a flexing typebar-actuating connection arranged under the type-bar, extending forwardl therefrom and lie type-bar and frame located in front of the head of the typebar, means for acting upon such flexing connection intermediate its ends and in rear of said fixed part to pull the type-bar to the printing-point with an increasing velocity and a coded spring having its rear end attached to the type-bar above or in front of its pivot and extending forwardly in the space between the ty e-bar and flexing connection, the direction 0 movement of the flexing connection being in opposition to the extension of the spring thereby affording a rapid retreat of the type-bar from the platen, substan tially as and or the purposeset forth.

7. In a writing-machiiw, the combination with a platen and pivoted type-bar normally lying toward the front of the machine, of a flexing type-bar-actuating connection ex tending under the type-bar and composed of two flexibly-connected members, a rear one attached to the typo-bar and the front one to a fixed piece in front of the head of the typebar and having multiple pivots upon which it turns when the connection between the two members is flexed and the rear end of the front one thereby depressed, for the purpose EDWARD B. HESS; JOSEPH M. SlOUGIITON.

Witnesses:

EMIL BACK, JOSEPH T. RYAN. 

